Grave Mercy

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged
marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the
sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of
Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent
destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as
an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life,
she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae's most important assignment takes her straight into the high
court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not
only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the
impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s
vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

Nun Assassins- need I say more? Grave Mercy follows the story of Ismae as she grows and develops as a handmaiden for death. Given the summary above, you would think that most of this story takes place in the convent- I would say the summary for Goodreads covers the first eighth of the book.

Rachel LaFevers is a fantastic writer. The idea of being an assassin and an assassin in the high court of Brittany has a few paths it could take- it could be full of smut and bed hopping (bodice ripper), it could be all action and get pretty gruesome, but the author steers expertly away from both of these paths. She uses innuendos and hinting passion and writes her assassinations in a way that isn't as gruesome as it is calculated like a puzzle.

I have to say, Rachel LaFevers is an author to watch. I would compare Ismae and the flow of Grave Mercy to the works of Maria V Snyder and Tamora Pierce (or even Robin McKinley). This is a historical fantasy book that is hefty. It moves slowly, meticulously winding all parts of the story together to make a complete and action packed ending. If you are looking for instant love or a book that rushes to get in as much action as possible- this is not the book to read. The author takes her time and makes the reader anticipate what will happen. (As a side warning, I will mention, although the events in Ismae's life go quickly in the first few chapters, i did struggle with them- but after getting to the high court the book REALLY takes off!)

I am looking forward to reading the next books in this series. I can't wait to see what happens to the main characters, and even the side characters that I have grown to enjoy!

I detest insta-love. I'm constantly ranting about how much it will ruin a book for me (most of the time). The fact that you mentioned this book is slow moving in the relationship department has got me even more excited to read Grave Mercy. That and the fact there are ninja nuns.

This book was amazing for me. I absolutely loved it. I had never read anything remotely similar before, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. The first chapter was very hard to read, but once it got going I fell completely head over heels for Grave Mercy. The characters were so believable, and the setting was written so well I could see it when I closed my eyes. What an amazing author Robin LaFevers is. I cannot wait to see where she goes with the next book in the series, Dark Triumph. All about Sybella!

Subscribe To

According to FTC guidelines, The Best Books Ever is required to note all books that are given to our site in exchange for a review. Book reviews note whether or not a book was received for free. Receipt of a book from a publisher, author, or other entity is not a guarantee of a positive review, or of a review at all. The manner in which we receive books does not influence the content of our reviews.